Le Grand Depart

 

At 6:30 am ET the riders take off from Lille France to begin this year's Tour. I spent yesterday cleaning up my wheels and taking stock of what I need to finish up.

Ditto for my spindles. The only time they see the light of day anymore is during the Tour. I've got several of them with projects still in progress from last year. 

There was a casualty. My drum carder is all out of whack. The poly cord that turns the wheels wasn't working and when I tried to re-align it, the whole thing went wonky on me. I've got the directions to take it apart and put it back together correctly but I need the time to do it. It's been a very busy few days.

Somebody and his baby brother came to spend the day yesterday while The Mister and SIL played golf. We painted until it was time to do other things on the table.

At three years old he's becoming a master crab picker. Just like his mama. 

A Declaration

 If you haven't recently read that piece of paper we're supposed to be celebrating today, you might want to do so, paying careful attention to the 27 colonial grievances that started a revolution. They may look familiar.

Happy 4th ya'll.

News From the Homefront

 

Every week when we take the trip up to sit the Grands I pack a big bag of my knitting. I barely touch it. We do work on puzzles....

...and make Cootie Catchers. We also had a visit from my sister and her two Grands. Toddler Grand was thrilled to have the company of someone that wasn't old or grumpy.

Baby Grand is still a handful. He's decided napping is not his thing. He's working hard at figuring how to get around to see what everyone else is doing. I see a playpen in his future. 

And progress was made with the elusive kitty. What a glorious chunk she is when she's out in full view.

I was even allowed a tentative scritch or two. We're not exactly friends but at least she's allowing me to know she exists. 

Wednesday WIPs

I said this was going to be the summer of socks and voila, here is my second finished pair of the season. 

I've still got plenty more socks to work on. I cast on some man sized socks with another ball of Regia that I had in the stash. I'm also still working on my two-on-the-same needle Regia socks. I wish I could say this has put a dent in my Regia stash but...nope. 

And...I'm still working on that dishcloth. I spend more time thinking about what I'm supposed to be doing than I do actually doing it but it's a nice challenge when I'm in the mood for one. I think this thing is going to have to go in my knitting Hall of Fame when it's done. It will never be just a dishcloth. I will have to find it a special purpose. 

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 

I'm closing in on finishing the next to the last row of the Garden. I've still got all the background white to do before I head down to the very last row so it will still be awhile before this is a FO. 

I had an aha moment with the needlepoint project this week. It wasn't with the front.

It was with the back. See how the stitches lie differently? Some are shaggy and some are neat. You actually want the shaggy back stitches in order to get good coverage but I'm more worried about running out of this vintage yarn so I wanted the smaller stitches but I couldn't figure out what I was doing to get them. They seemed random. I googled it and found a Reddit group discussing this very thing and now I have it figured out. In needlepoint speak it's going from Arizona to Maine when you go right and going from Maine to Arizona when you go left. I had to make myself a little sign on an index card to remind myself. 

Block E2 of Dear Jane is in progress but it's not very interesting at the moment. I'm coming down the homestretch with the Patchwork of the Crosses quilt but I ran out of the smaller honeycomb shapes so I'm waiting for a delivery. I really should start putting all these pieces together but truth be told, I'm a little nervous about them working out the way I've planned. I think the math is mathing but you never really know until you get those pieces sewn together. 

Unplugged

 

We spent almost the entire day yesterday without any internet or cable. All we had for company was my little radio. I have to say it was weird being cut off from the outside world. You don't realize how much you depend on it until it's not there. 

I had wanted to tackle that knot bag that's been waiting for me to finish but I couldn't access the video I used for directions so I decided to work on Taylor Barbie's new dress instead. This Mattel pattern that 57 Pumpkin just sent me is just what I needed. The directions are written for the average 9 year old. That's about where my skill level is for sewing tbh. 

I told myself I'm going to take it nice and slow. I putter a few minutes here and there with all my other projects but when I sit down to sew something I rush through to get it done and that's been a recipe for disaster. Today I cut out the pieces, tomorrow I'll figure out how to put them together. 

I figured I had to up my game after my sister sent me this photo of the dress her youngest granddaughter made for her American Girl doll last week. How cute is that? 

Tying One On

 

I cut the towel off the loom on Friday. I said I was going to do it when the weather took a turn for the better and we had a glorious 24 hour window of downright chilly weather that day. It was cool and rainy and I loved it. The heat and humidity returned yesterday. Booo....

I even sat down at the machine and hemmed it.

After washing it looked better. A few more washings will shrink it up even more and tighten the fabric. 

The Mister helped me move that dreary fall warp onto the loom but that's as far as I got because....

....I ate one of those sprinkle donuts instead of lunch and that was it for me energy-wise. I should have known better but those sprinkles were irresistible. They are covered on both sides for Pride Month and they sure pack a sugar wallop. No regrets.